Why are some things relatively easy to express in language (e.g., geometric shapes) but others hard (e.g., odors)? Various explanations have been suggested for this differential ineffability (i.e., the impossibility of putting phenomena into words). Perhaps it is due to something fundamental about the cognitive architecture of our mind~brains. The ease of naming visual as opposed olfactory entities, for example, has been attributed the amount brain area devoted to processing each sensory modality.

Abstract:

For a long time, economists have assumed that we were cold, self-centred, rational decision makers – so-called Homo economicus; the last few decades have shattered this view. The world we live in and the situations we face are of course rich and complex, revealing puzzling aspects of our behaviour. Optimally Irrational argues that our improved understanding of human behaviour shows that apparent 'biases' are good solutions to practical problems – that many of the 'flaws' identified by behavioural economics are actually adaptive solutions.

Music around the world is incredibly diverse, yet some musical features are widely shared. This raises a question: in what respects does music sound the same or different to people from different cultures? In this talk I will share the results of recent research with the Tsimane’, an indigenous Amazonian society in Bolivia who have limited exposure to Western music. This work suggests that there are several universal features of pitch and harmony perception that may constrain musical behavior around the world.

Des études ont montré que les mères parlaient plus clairement lorsqu'elles s'adressaient à des bébés et à des perroquets que lorsqu'elles s'adressaient à des adultes ou à leurs chats et chiens. Pour quelles raisons ? Quel est le point commun entre des perroquets et des enfants ? Des scientifiques ont pensé que les mères parlaient plus clairement parce qu’elles enseignaient le langage : après tout, les bébés et les perroquets apprennent à parler.

Megha Sundara will be invited professor at ENS from June 20 to July 14. She will give the following three talks.

Megha Sundara will be invited professor at ENS from June 20 to July 14. She will give the following three talks.

Megha Sundara will be invited professor at ENS from June 20 to July 14. She will give the following three talks.

The replication crisis affects dyslexia research as much as any other field. This is facilitated by questionable research practices such as p-hacking, HARKING, as well as publication bias. The goal of this project is to quantify the extent of this problem, by meta-analysing one section of dyslexia research, using a method called p-curve or z-curve analysis.